


Seven Not-So-Deadly Sins

by DanyelN



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, F/M, JB Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-07 14:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12234435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanyelN/pseuds/DanyelN
Summary: A lighthearted look at the Seven Deadly Sins in the lives of Jaime and Brienne when the sins are not so deadly.





	1. Gluttony

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote these little bits last year when this was a proposed theme for JB week 2016 but it was not chosen. It is not the theme this year either but I decided to share them anyway.

By the age of eight, Jaime and Brienne were already the best of friends and routinely chauffeured home together after soccer practice to play and do homework. This afternoon, no one greeted them at the kitchen and a small army of caterers and waiters were rushing about. Jaime’s looked back to where Brienne stood just inside the kitchen door and offered her a smile. He had spotted some little cupcakes sitting low on a cart and thought one tray of them would not be missed, though it was still better to not get caught. 

Jaime grabbed Brienne’s hand, as he rushed back with the tray. “I got us treats,” he whispered excitedly and pulled her into Casterly Rock’s large, walk-in pantry. There they sat and giggled and talked for what seemed like ages. 

Brienne held her tummy. “I don’t feel so good, Jaime.” 

"Yeah, maybe something is wrong with these cupcakes. I don't feel so good, either."

The kids stumbled out of the pantry and were confronted by a confused cook and worried Genna Lannister. "Jaime, Brienne, we've been looking for you for hours. Where have you been?"

“In the pantry with some of the little cupcakes,” said Jaime.

The cook's eyes shot wide open. "You two ate a whole tray of the little muffins? Oh dear, this is not good.” He turned to Genna, who looked equally upset.

Genna sent the butler to call the family doctor, while she sat the children down at a table in the kitchen and peppered them with questions. When they both admitted that their tummies hurt Genna looked angry and worried. "Those muffins were for the party. They were soaked in liquor and because you didn't ask the cook for a snack, you are now sick," she lectured.

The doctor decided that they had not consumed enough alcohol to need medical attention; a meal and some rest should find them right as rain. Aunt Genna had been so worried about the two that she decided neither father need know about the incident, only that the children had gotten into the pantry during the brunch. 

As for Jaime and Brienne, their tummy aches were enough to ensure that they never pilfered party foods again.


	2. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime overhears some distressing things and proceeds to take care of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter occurs early in Jaime and Brienne's college years.

Jaime sat alone in front of his locker. He could hear a few of his teammates still puttering around the locker room as he dressed. He wasn't really paying attention to them until he heard one of them say Brienne's name, then he was all ears.  


"We've tried everything: flowers, candy, poetry, and nothing is moving the big bitch," whined a voice Jaime was almost certain belonged to that ass, Ambrose.  


Ron Connington spoke up next. "She'll be at the team party on Saturday after the game. I'm gonna get her huge ass drunk and win the bet, whether she likes it or not."  


That was enough for Jaime; he knew half the team had been being uncharacteristically kind to Brienne of late. Especially Hyle Hunt; Brienne had actually mentioned a study date with him last week. Jaime walked casually around the corner of the lockers and spotted the idiots sitting there, still chatting about this bet they had going on. Connington had the audacity to ask if Jaime wanted in.  


"What bet?" Jaime asked innocently.  


"The bet to bed Brienne the Beauty," smirked Hunt. "The pot is pretty big now."  


At their admission, Jaime punched the closest one of them, Hunt, directly in his smirking mouth. The rest of the fight became a blur, as he yelled at them to stay the hell away from Brienne while pummeling one after the other.  
In the end, all four gamblers were lying on the floor, moaning as Jaime reminded them that, while he could beat them all up again, his father could ruin their futures before they began, if they bothered Brienne again.  


Sagging as the adrenaline left him, Jaime walked out the door. He did not want to tell Brienne about this, but there was no way he could hide his bruised knuckles and, from the feel of it, split lip. He sighed and headed for her dorm.


	3. Sloth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime is NOT a morning person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter occurs near the end of Jaime & Brienne's undergrad years.

Brienne knocked at the door to Jaime's dorm room. When she heard no movement inside, she knocked louder. “Jaime,” she called, “hurry up or we’ll be late getting back in time for class.” After knocking a third time, she finally opened the door with her spare key and found him still asleep. "Lannister get out of bed, I only agreed to let you run with me because you begged!” she shouted, as she snatched at the blankets.  


He had been sidelined since his injury last season, and had not been allowed to train since then. If he wanted to be ready when the new season started, he had to regain his strength and stamina, needed to be back in shape by the time ream work-outs began. Knowing Brienne’s dedication to her own fitness, Jaime had asked for her help. She knew he wasn’t a morning person when she agreed, but she hadn’t realized she would have to bodily drag him from bed.  


Jaime threw his pillow at Brienne, grumbling about loud wenches and no sleep.  


“Lannister, if you’re not ready to go in the next five minutes, I am leaving to run without you.”  


Brienne dodged Jaime’s other pillow and watched him stumble, still grumbling, out of bed, towards the attached shared bath. He emerged a few minutes later, dressed in his running gear and carrying his running shoes. He sat on the edge of his rumpled bed to put them on.  


“Okay, coach, what’s the plan for today?” he asked, grinning up at her.  


“We’re starting slow, only two miles ‘til we see what you can handle,” she said with a smile.  


Jaime yawned as he followed her out of the room and wondered what he would do without a friend like Brienne.


	4. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime & Brienne have trouble settling in at Law School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place just before and during Jaime and Brienne's 1L year at King's Landing Law School.

Jaime had beamed; he and Brienne were headed to the same law school. They had worked together on applications and essays, trying to get into their top choice, and it had worked. After undergrad graduation, back at the Rock, Jaime shared no excitement to learn Cersei had also been accepted to King's Landing Law. He wasn’t sure how she had managed it with abysmal grades and less-than-stellar LSAT scores, and was almost certain their father had bought her way in. 

Less than two weeks before classes started, Jaime was summoned to Tywin Lannister’s study to receive a lengthy lecture about family and legacy and his responsibility to one day take over the family firm. Finally, Father got to the point: Jaime was going to be responsible for Cersei while they were in law school, to be sure she went to class and studied and passed. 

Jaime felt deflated as he told Brienne about the meeting. Brienne tried to be optimistic, stating that Cersei had gotten into law school; surely, she would be able to complete the course work required to stay there; then became horrified by Jaime’s certainty Tywin had bought Cersei’s admission. She still insisted they would be fine. 

The first week of fall semester, things were already far from fine for Jaime. Brienne had formed a study group with some people from their section and asked him to join, too. Their first meeting, Cersei declared their study group was beneath her intelligence and that Lannisters need not associate themselves with lesser families to succeed. When Cersei stormed out, Jaime had no choice but to follow his charge and reluctantly told Brienne the next morning that he and Cersei would study alone. 

Jaime tried to keep up his friendships, especially with Brienne, his best friend since grade school. He missed her always being around, but she was invested in her new study group that worked so well that they briefed for all their classes together. He would often see the little group across the library, as he tried to force Cersei to brief cases for the next day’s classes, and felt a pang of jealousy whenever he heard Brienne’s quiet laughter. By the end of the first semester, he hated that group.

Over Christmas break Tywin was furious that Jaime was managing to pass, if not excel, while Cersei's grades were terrible. He kept telling his father that, while he could make her brief cases and take the time to study, he could not take her exams for her; furthermore, his grades would be better if he were not saddled with Cersei's work too. By the end of the break, Jaime had convinced him that Cersei should be on her own and reluctantly asked Brienne if he could re-join her study group. She smiled as she said yes.

He was the new guy in the group and uncomfortable for the first few weeks. Jaime was caught off-guard by the flirty manner of one Renly Baratheon towards Brienne. An uneasiness ate at him until a month later, when Jaime caught Renly making out with an undergrad, Loras, in the stacks. By the end of the semester, Jaime and Brienne were as close as ever, and he was able to show Tywin how well he succeeded without his failing Twin. Cersei was soon engaged to a rising politician in an effort to hide her failure. To the press, Tywin portrayed this as the fulfillment of his daughter’s greatest wish and would then speak proudly of how well his heir had done his first year of law school.


	5. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime realizes his best friend is actually a woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place during Jaime & Brienne's 2L year at King's Landing Law School.

By the time he realized it, Jaime wasn’t sure when his best friend had become a woman. Technically, he knew she was a woman, but she had always been there, just Brienne: his friend through childhood, school, undergrad, and now his roommate their second year of law school. Maybe, that’s when things started to change, he thought, when he had been able to see Brienne fresh out of the shower, cheeks pink and wet hair curling around her face. She was the first person he saw every morning, making coffee in nothing but her long tee shirt. 

It was painful to realize that she was not just a woman but a woman he wanted. Jaime had seen her so many ways throughout the years, in work-out gear, soccer shorts, swimsuits, and never given her a second look. It was bad enough to imagine her naked and dripping every time she took a shower but now even seeing her on the couch in ratty sweats, surrounded by texts books, was enough to heat his blood. 

Jaime found himself trying to both avoid her and be kinder to her at the same time. He desperately wanted to be around her but was running out of ways to hide his near-constant arousal when he got too close. When he did spend time with her, he went out of his way to do things he thought a potential boyfriend would: taking her out to lunch, doing more than his share of chores around the place, and anything he could think to prove himself.

He had to admit that he had no idea what he was doing. Despite their age, Jaime had never dated seriously, and neither had she. He had always had Brienne but now needed her to know that he wanted her to be more than just his best friend. 

One night, after their weekly “bar exam” and the Fox and the Hound, Jaime struggled to stay upright, while helping an equally inebriated Brienne up the stairs to their apartment. As they stumbled into one another, Jaime groaned. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He hated himself for taking advantage of her, but he could not stop himself from leaning over and kissing her. 

She kissed him back.


	6. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime has a meeting with Tywin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens just after Jaime and Brienne have graduated law school and passed the bar exam.

Jaime sat down stiffly in front large desk. Usually, meetings like this were for Tywin to lecture his son about his perceived failures; the fact that this meeting was at Jaime’s behest did nothing to calm his nerves. 

Tywin looked at Jaime expectantly. “You asked for this meeting, I assume you have something you wanted to say.”

“Father,” Jaime began, after reminding himself it was a mistake to ask Tywin Lannister for anything, “I would like a piece of Mother’s jewelry; specifically, the band with the inset sapphires.”

Tywin raised an eyebrow. “You do not need the money. Might I ask the sudden interest in your dear mother’s jewelry?”

“I want to ask Brienne to marry me and would like to give her one of Mother’s rings,” he blurted out. 

“It’s about time you proposed to that girl.” 

Jaime was dumbfounded and knew he must look it, when Tywin continued. “Jaime, she has been in your life since you were children and stuck by you, no matter what idiotic thing you did. I believe that you have been in love with another since you were in high school but it took you this long to realize it. You are both stubborn.” 

Jaime thought the man in front of him looked like his father, but he could not be sure of his identity. Prompted by Jaime’s silence, Tywin continued. 

“Brienne is a smart girl from an old family. She always seemed to have a good effect on your behavior, and I will be pleased to have her as a good-daughter. Did you really think it was by chance that Brienne was offered internships by my firm every year, or that she received an excellent offer of employment after her graduation?” Tywin laughed to himself. “I believe this is the first time I have left you speechless. Come by the house tonight, and we will go through your mother’s jewelry to select a piece for Brienne.”

“Thank you, Father,” Jaime croaked, as he left the office reeling. 

Tywin smiled widely, certain that he would finally have grandchildren to carry on the Lannister name.


	7. Greed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cersei shows her true colors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was the inspiration for writing the rest of this series. it takes place after Jaime and Brienne have been married for years.

The sound of the door opening startled Jaime. He looked up to see Cersei enter the lawyer's reception room. He had not seen or spoken to her in the month since Tywin's funeral. Seeing that all three siblings had arrived, the receptionist ushered them all into a conference room for the reading of their father’s will. 

"Why is she here?" hissed Cersei, glaring at Brienne.

“Father wanted her here, according to the lawyers", Tyrion said as they all took seats around the table. Tywin’s vast business empire had already been dealt with, years before his untimely death, leaving only the personal effects to be dealt with. Still, they sat for nearly two hours to divide cars, cash, cars, vacation homes, and mementoes of their late mother among the siblings.

The lawyer paused before reaching beneath the table, then hefted a large cherry wood casket with gold fittings onto its surface. “This case is the final item in Mr. Lannister’s will. He wished it to go to his good-daughter, Brienne,” he said, then slid the large case across the table, towards her. 

Brienne stood to accept a small key from the lawyer, unlocking the case and lifting its lid with care. Once the case was open, the attorney reached over and gently opened all the drawers and doors inside, exposing a large collection of jewelry. 

Brienne gaped to look at the glittering expanse of sapphires, diamonds, and platinum. “Is that a tiara?”

The attorney simply handed her a sealed envelope and requested she read the note from her late good-father.

_Dearest Brienne, ___

____

__

_This collection of sapphire jewelry belonged to my wife, Joanna. She loved this jewelry and wore it often. I know that she would have loved you and welcomed you into our family. I want you to have Joanna's sapphires, and I hope that you will receive as much enjoyment from them as she did. ___

____

____

_Regards, ___

____

____

_Tywin Lannister ___

____

____

Jaime reverently touched one piece of jewelry, then another, with a small smile on his lips. "I remember her wearing this one, and this one, too." 

Cersei sputtered in outrage. "Why would father give expensive jewelry to such a beast? These belonged to my mother, and I should have them for my Myrcella."

Brienne covered Jaime’s hand, now clenched in a fist, with her own, silently begging him to let it go for now. 

The lawyer had no such compunction. "Mrs. Baratheon, your father left a video, in case you questioned his gift to Brienne." He picked up a remote control and directed their attention to a television set behind him.  
Tywin’s face appeared on the screen. From the look of him, it appeared the video was recorded several years ago, likely shortly after Jaime and Brienne were married. Tywin sighed with annoyance. “If you are seeing this, my daughter, Cersei Baratheon, is being a grasping selfish child over a gift to my good-daughter, Brienne. Cersei, you were offered your choice of your mother’s jewelry years ago and turned up your nose at the mention of sapphires, no doubt unaware as to the extent of the collection, and now you are jealous. Regardless, you made your choice, and I want nothing else said to Brienne about this. Understood?”

His face softened. “Brenne, my dear, Joanna would have adored you and how much you love our son. Please wear her sapphires with joy.”

Brienne wiped a tear from her eye and nodded; she reached out and re-locked the case. 

As Jaime departed the office, hefting Brienne’s heavy new jewelry box, he grinned at his wife. “He’s right, you know. He loved you, and I am sure Mother would have as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very special shout out to the lovely GumTree and Justme. They both spent chat time listening to me endlessly whine about these vignettes and gave me the courage to post them. Also thank to GumTree for a once over to polish a bit before sharing.


End file.
